The Creevey Papers
Henry Grey Bennet to Thomas Creevey, 20 July 1817
“Oakley, July 20, 1817.
“. . . I rejoice at the prospect of your return home,
as not only I want you, but we all require your counsel and aid. . . . Your
friends the Grenvilles are not only nibbling, but biting
at us once more, but I trust we shall have nothing to do with them. Have you
heard of our plan for a leader? Some persons last year thought of one of straw,
such as Althorpe or Ld. G. Cavendish, but that wd. not do, and we,
the Mountaineers, resented the scheme. At present we all concur in the
necessity of some one, and, taking all circumstances into consideration,
Tierney is the man selected in this
choice. Romilly and Brougham cordially concur, and I do so likewise:
not that Mrs. Cole has not many grievous faults, but there
is no one else who has not more. Romilly cannot, from his
business; and Brougham cannot from his unpopularity and
want of discretion. I think that the good old lady can be kept in order, and
tho’ she be timid and idle, yet she is very popular in the House, easy
and conciliatory; in no way perfect—in many ways better than any other
person. The proposition takes immensely, and at present between 60 and 70
persons have signified their adherence. Let me know your opinion. . . .”
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
George Cavendish, first earl of Burlington (1754-1834)
The son of William Cavendish, fourth Duke of Devonshire; he was a Whig MP for
Knaresborough (1775-80), Derby borough (1780-97), and Derbyshire (1797-1831); he was raised
to the peerage in 1831.
Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818)
Reformer of the penal code and the author of
Thoughts on Executive
Justice (1786); he was a Whig MP and Solicitor-General who died a suicide.
John Charles Spencer, third earl Spencer (1782-1845)
English politician, son of the second earl (d. 1834); educated at Harrow and Trinity
College, Cambridge, he was Whig MP for Northamptonshire (1806-34) and chancellor of the
exchequer and leader of the lower house under Lord Grey (1830).
George Tierney (1761-1830)
Whig MP and opposition leader whose political pragmatism made him suspect in the eyes of
his party; he fought a bloodless duel with Pitt in 1798. He is the “Friend of Humanity” in
Canning and Frere's “The Needy Knife-Grinder.”
